The Daughters
by Melody Melone
Summary: After being married for years, John and Sherlock have two daughters together, Pepper (16) and Maddy (14). What happens when John the girls disappear?
1. A boy?

John and Sherlock were sitting quietly in the living room of flat 221B, when two teenage girls walked in. The first one was small. Not extremely so, but still. She stood about 5"2 and had short dark brown curls much like Sherlock's. Her eyes were a bright hazel and contrasted well with her pale skin. She wore a T-shirt sporting the British flag and dark grey jeans with black trainers. On each wrist was a wrist band. One was a rainbow of colours and the other was black with a skull decoration. She slung her backpack to the floor and sprawled out on the couch.

The second girl was also on the small side. Her height was around 5"3 and her long blond hair was pulled away from her face into a ponytail. Her eyes were a medium blue grey and she wore rectangular black glasses with yellow trim. Her skin was pale, but her cheeks were a rosy red, almost as if she was embarrassed. She wore a thin red and grey sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up. Adorning her wrists were bands similar to the other girl's except one was black with pink stripes and the other was black and white checkers. Her jeans were completely black and made her red high tops stick out. She walked to the sofa occupied by the short haired girl and sat down on the ground, leaning against it and pulled a laptop out of her messenger bag.

"How was your day girls?" John asked as Sherlock read over his case, unaware that the girls had arrived.

"It was horrible!" The blonde girl yelled. The short haired girl smiled proudly.

"Pepper, what did you do?" John asked, turning his gaze to the short haired girl.

"Stuff..." She replied.

"She wouldn't stop teasing me!" The blonde girl glared at Pepper.

"About what?" John had folded his newspaper up and turned his full attention to his bickering daughters. Sherlock continued to ignore the trio.

The blonde girl's face suddenly flushed. "Noth-" Her sister cut her off.

"The boy she likes!" Pepper smirked.

Sherlock's head shot up and his gaze bore into his daughters. "... A boy?"

"Sherlock..." John began before being interrupted.

"Did you hear her John? She said a boy!" Sherlock's voice was beginning to sound threatening.

"Yes, I heard her! It's not a big deal! Maddy is fourteen! It was bound to happen sometime!" John replied.

"It was NEVER supposed to happen!" Sherlock spoke quickly, closely eyeing his daughters. "With Pepper being a lesbian, we never have to worry about boys with her, and I was hoping we wouldn't have to worry about them with Maddy either! It wasn't supposed to happen John!"

"It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is, John! How can you say it's not that big of a deal!?" Sherlock was bewildered at his husband's calm reaction to the news about their daughter.

"Come now, Sherlock. We don't even know the boy's name and like you said, Maddy is fourteen. It's not like she is getting married."

"John!" Sherlock's voice was quite loud now and he glared at his lover whom was gazing steadily back.

"I'm right here, you know." The blonde girl called from the opposite side of the room where she sat, ticking away on the keyboard of her laptop.  
They ignored her.

"Seriously, Sherlock. You're being ridiculous. You didn't react this way when Pepper got her first girlfriend." John was standing in front of his husband with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

"That was different." Sherlock was now looking anywhere but at John, knowing that he was fighting a battle he had already lost.

"How so?" John shot an apologetic smile at his blue-eyed daughter who responded with a small smile and mouthed "Thank you." over the top of her computer before going back to focusing what was on the screen.

"I...because..." The curly haired man seemed to be struggling for some sort of evidence to help him when his eyes lit up with triumph.

"Pepper can't get pregnant with a girlfriend! Maddy could, since she is attracted to the opposite sex which has the appropriate reproductive organs to impregnate her."

"DAD!" Maddy sounded absolutely horrified at the thought of being "impregnated" and looked at her father with shock written clearly on her face.

"Jesus Christ...Sherlock, is that really all you could come up with? She is fourteen, for God's sake! She isn't going to be having sex anytime soon!"

"PAPA!" Maddy was now looking at both of her parents with shock and horror whilst her sister lay behind her, laughing so hard that her face was completely red and tears were leaking out of her eyes.

"It is a valid reason to be worried, John. I want nothing but the absolute best for our children." Sherlock shuffled his feet and looked above John's head, hoping that his husband would at least give him some credit, because honestly, it WAS a perfectly good reason to be worried.

"This discussion is over, Sherlock. Leave it be. You hear me? Don't you dare go running any background checks or pestering Pepper for information on the poor boy." John waited patiently for his husband's reply. He was greeted with silence. "Sherlock..."

"Fine, John." Sherlock turned away from his husband with a flourish of his dressing gown and proceeded to continue reading the cold case file he had previously abandoned.

"Good. Now, would you girls like a cuppa?" John turned towards his daughters with a relaxed smile.

"Yes please, Papa." The two girls responded in sync without looking up from their respective electronic devices.

John smirked and shook his head before heading into the kitchen.

"Hoo hoo." A voice came from the entrance to 221B accompanied with a knock.  
"Hello, Grandma." The girls yet again spoke in sync but this time, they lifted their heads from the screens they had been gazing at and smiled at the woman they know as "Grandma"

"Hello, Mrs. Hudson." John walked back into the living room and have the elderly woman a hug and a quick kiss to her cheek.

"Oh hello, John dear. I just got back from the store and I came to give the girls some sweets I purchased for them."  
Said girls' heads shot towards their grandmother.

Maddy clicked a few more keys on her computer before shutting the lid, setting it on the coffee table, and standing up. Pepper hit a button on her phone, causing the screen to go black before she slipped it into her pocket and climbed over the edge of the couch. Her papa shot her a disapproving look, knowing she had picked up the habit of simply walking or climbing over things from her dad.

"Here you are, dearies." Mrs. Hudson dug around in her purse before pulling out two packets of Pocky candy.

"Thank you, Grandma!" The girls have their grandmother a kiss simultaneously on each cheek closest to them before grabbing their things and heading to their room.

"Ooh, I don't know if I'll ever get used to that." Mrs. Hudson uttered softly, referring to the girls moments of synchronized speech.

"It is slightly unnerving at times but they have done it since they learned to speak. You would think that they were twins with some sort of telepathic link." John smiled at the older woman.

"Nonsense, John. Telepathy is not possible. Why would you bring up something so idiotic?" Sherlock scoffed at his husband's absurd sentence without even looking up from his papers.

John sighed and smiled.

"Talk to him, dearie. I heard a bit of your spat. He is probably just worried about her." The landlady whispered to John before turning and heading back down th stairs to her flat.

"Sherlock, what has gotten into you? You're being rude and uncooperative. And it's not your normal rude attitude either. So come on, out with it." John walked over to his husband and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Sherlock stayed stiff for a moment before relaxing into his husband's embrace. He shifted in John's arms and turned to face him.

John smiled and led them both to the couch where Sherlock curled up and rested his head against his husband's shoulder. John waited until Sherlock spoke.

"I don't want her getting hurt by some stupid boy, John. Pepper has always been slightly tougher when it comes to handling heartbreak. She had her first girlfriend when she was thirteen, and yes, the first time she had her heart broken, it hurt her but..."

"You're worried because Maddy is slightly more sensitive to sentiment and is the younger of the two." John ran his hand through Sherlock's hair soothingly.

"Yes. It's not that either of them is weaker or stronger than the other but they have different traits, John. Maddy is more like you and you have always been so caring and people take advantage of that. Pepper is more like me and can manage to not care or at least pretend as though she doesn't."

"Oh Sherlock... It will be okay. It's just a crush. For now at least and if he ever hurts Maddy, Lord knows that Pepper won't let him get away with it. That is her little sister and you know how protective she is of Maddy." Sherlock snuggles deeper into his husband's chest and John had to strain to hear his muffled voice.

"I know. But she is my daughter, John. They both are. You and the girls are what really matter to me. I never once thought I would ever want a family, let alone actually have one. All three of you have changed me. And I'll be damned if anyone tries to hurt any of you." Sherlock looked up at his husband with fierce eyes.

"I know, Sherlock. We love you too." And with that, John pressed their lips together softly.


	2. The School

The next day, Pepper and Maddy were sitting in room OM111 at their high school. The teacher, a short brunette with straight hair that went down just below her shoulders, was giving a lecture on graphing linear sat at the front of the room, slouched in her seat with a rather bored expression on her face. She was slouched to the point where Maddy, who was sitting right behind her, could easily play with her hair. Every minuet or so, Pepper would seemingly scratch her back, but what she was really doing was passing notes to Maddy. Unfolding the piece of paper, Maddy read what her sister had written in capital letters. "IM BORED."

Giving a small giggle, which was frighteningly similar to her papa's, Maddy picked up her pencil to reply. "I am too. If only something exciting would happen at this school for once!" She folded the note back up and put both of her arms forward, so she seemed as if she was stretching, and tapped her sister hastily on the back who yet again, reached behind her under the pretense of scratching an itch, and grabbed the square of paper. If anyone noticed their exchange, no one said anything. It was sort of an unspoken rule between high schoolers. If you don't tell on me, I won't tell on you. And it worked. Reading the note, Pepper sighed and leaned her head against her hand as her sister continued to play with her hair. As their teacher continued with her speech, the students seemed to slowly be falling asleep. Even Edgar, the class clown, put his head down on the desk and heaved a sigh. Chase, a friend of the two sisters, opened up his book and tuned out the teacher, while many of the girls in the class pulled out their phones and began texting away under the desk while the teacher's back was turned.

Suddenly, in a moment of silence as the teacher worked out a problem on the white board, two voices faded into earshot from outside the hall. They weren't close enough yet to make anything out but as they got closer to the classroom, the words became clear. Pepper and Maddy sat up in their seats as they heard a deep baritone voice. They knew exactly who that belonged to and they could not believe their ears. "John, which room number did the girls' schedules say their Algebra class was in?"

"Room 111 of Old Main. Right here, Sherlock." The voices stopped as the door to the girls class opened and their fathers stepped into the room. Before either Maddy or Pepper could speak, their teacher Ms. Barber, addressed the two men.

"Excuse me? A class is in session right now. Who are you?" She glared at the pair and crossed her arms across her chest.

"My name is Sherlock Holmes and this is my husband, Dr. John Watson. We are hear to pick up our daughters." Sherlock shifted his gaze to Pepper and Maddy. "Come along, girls. Pack up your things so that we may leave." Pepper shared a glance with her sister before they both shrugged and began to put their paper and binders back into their bags.

"Um no. You both shall have to go to the attendance office and tell the secretary you are here to pick up your children. You are not allowed to simply barge into my class and disrupt my teaching."

"Well, to be fair, we have already done such so what would be the point in going halfway across the school campus when we could get out children right now and go?" Sherlock stepped forward and crossed his arms, mimicking 's pose.

"You must follow the rules like every other parent, or I will have to call security to remove you from my class." Ms. Barber gazed steadily at the blonde man.

"I will gladly remove myself from your class but I shall be taking my daughters with me." Sherlock hissed the words at the woman.

"Sherlock..." John reached forward to grab his husbands hand and thread their fingers together, hoping to calm him down.

"Dude, that's gross. Take your gay stuff somewhere else." A voice came from the back of the room. Pepper and Maddy immediately ceased packing their things and turned slowly to face the boy who had dared to call their fathers "gross." He sat slumped in his desk, arms crossed and one headphone in his ear with a look of disgust on his face.

"Leave them alone, you twat." Maddy spat at her ignorant classmate.

"I don't have to. They are doing that shit in public, I am allowed to say what I want. I have freedom of speech so I can say that they are disgusting." The dark haired boy sneered at them.

"Oi, you shut your mouth before I do it for you!" Pepper threatened darkly, glaring angrily at him.

"Girls, come on. Lets just leave." Sherlock remarked softly to his daughters. While Sherlock would never admit it, it stung when someone looked down upon his love for John. It didnt happen often, that someone would disapprove out loud, but whenever it did, Sherlock worried. He didn't want John to get sick of the dirty looks and leave Sherlock to go back to women. Sherlock was not an emotional person but he had insecurities that no one but his daughters knew of. He was too scared to ever tell John but his daughters knew him as a completely different Sherlock. The two sisters shot burning glares at the other student before picking up their bags and striding towards the door where their fathers stood.

As the family was turning to leave, the boy muttered behind them, obviously wanting to be heard. "Faggots." Both girls stopped dead in their tracks and practically saw red.

"Aw hell no." Pepper turned around, dropping her bag and ran towards the boy who was sitting in the front seat of the far row of desks. Without another word, Pepper raised her arm and punched him square in the face. With a loud cry, the boy fell out of his seat, clutching his now bleeding nose. Pepper hadn't noticed her sister's presence until the blonde girl delivered a swift and hard kick to the incapacitated boy's groin. He whimpered and curled into a fetal position, trying to protect his crotch and hold his broken nose at the same time. Before the girls could hurt the boy more, Sherlock raced forward wrapped his long arms around Pepper, while John did the same to Maddy. With their angry daughters restrained, Sherlock took a moment to shoot a smirk at his husband who responded by shaking his head and holding back a proud smile. They both were thinking the same thing. "These are definitely our daughters."

Ms. Barber walked frantically over to her phoneand and called security. "We have some problems in OM111." She reported to the security officer who answered.

"Pepper," Sherlock whispered harshly in his first-born's ear. "I need you to calm down. Your Papa and I will be fine."

"You do realize that I'm not dropping this, right?!" Pepper stopped moving and began clawing her dad's arm. "I've had a lot of trouble with that kid and I'm sick of him! He needs to pay!" Just then, the security officer ran into the class room. He placed his hands on Sherlock and John's shoulders.

"Would you please let go of the girls?"

"They are our girls, and if we know them well enough, then letting them go probably isn't the best option." Sherlock glared at the officer.

"Well then, may I escort you four to the discipline office?" The officer walked to the open door, Sherlock and John, dragging their daughters in tow, followed him. They were taken upstairs to an office with the word "discipline" on the wall.

"You two wait here." The security guard addressed Sherlock and John, gesturing to the row of chairs lined up against the wall of the hallway. Carefully extracting their arms from around their daughters, the two men sat in a pair of chairs closest to the doorway. The officer escorted the fuming teenagers into the discipline office and shut the door.

"Well, that didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped." John crossed his legs and strummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. After about five minutes of silence, he glanced over at Sherlock who had his arms crossed and an irritated look on his face. "God, Sherlock," John sighed. "Sometimes I swear, you're such a child!" Sherlock looked over at John, then turned away like a little kid. Just then, the girls walked out of the office, followed by a tall man.

"That was quick." John muttered as he stood up. Sherlock stayed seated for a moment longer before getting up and standing close behind his husband.

"Mr. Watson, Mr. Holmes, your daughters have been suspended for a week and when they come back, they shall have detention during lunch for the remainder of the month." The tall grey haired man reported to the parents.

"What?! You didn't tell is that part!" Maddy looked extremely sad and pissed off at the man's statement.

"What do you care anyway? We never do anything at lunch." Pepper glanced at her sister's face before realization dawned on her. "Oh I see." Her mouth twisted into a smirk.

"What?" John looked at his daughters in confusion.

"She isn't going to be able to see Levi anymore." The brunette sung the sentence teasingly. John glanced worriedly at his husband, but Sherlock didn't seem to care about the revelation.

"I'm not going to apologize. You girls cannot simply go around beating up other students. Or beating up anybody for that matter. It is not okay!" The principal snapped.

"But Josh started it!" Pepper belted.

"Josh?" John leaned towards Maddy.

"The bigot from the classroom." Maddy explained.

"I don't care who started it!" The man interjected. "You shouldn't have hit him!"

"Fine!" Pepper sighed as she turned away. "Bitch..."

"Pepper!" Sherlock and John simultaneously barked at their daughter. Pepper ignored their warning and kept her back turned.

Heaving a sigh, John turned to the principal. "I do apologize for our daughters behavior. I assure you it will never happen again, and-" John was cut short by a scoff coming from his right. Sherlock had turned his irritated expression on the grey haired principal and John easily recognized the look in his husband's eyes. "Sherlock, don't-" Said man cut him off before he could finish his warning. John readied himself for whatever offense things were about to come out of his partner's mouth. The principal gave the consulting detective a steely look.

"What?" He spat.

"Oh nothing. Although I'm afraid that my husband has just lied to you. John knows as well as I do that if someone says something against this family, which does not simply consist of John and I, that our girls will not hesitate to show their...'disapproval'. And if I may, Rod, how was your night with the secretary?" Sherlock asked.

"Beg your pardon?" Rod responded, a panicked look in his eyes.

"Your shampoo smells like coconuts and there is a small smudge of lipgloss on your cuff. Your trousers are slightly wrinkled and that shirt is at least two days old, judging by the stain on it which is obviously from the dinner you had last night since it is too early to have had lunch today and nobody has stew for breakfast. You didn't go home last night." The last bit was not a question and Sherlock smiled smugly at the now openly worried man in front of him.

"Just..." Rod paused. "Get out of here!" Sherlock smiled at him.

"Good day." With a flourish of his Belstaff, Sherlock turned and started down the hall, his daughters trailing behind.

"I-um-just...never mind." Stumbling over his words, John tried to think of a way to calm down the fuming principal and apologize for his husband's behavior without letting it be known that he thought the grey haired man deserved it. With a shake of his head, John hurried after his family, leaving the other man standing angrily in the hallway.

"That took much longer than expected. Lestrade was expecting us at the scene forty-five minutes ago." Sherlock glanced quickly at his phone before sliding it back into his pocket.

"Dad, why are we going through the cafeteria?" Maddy asked as she, her sister, and her papa tried to keep up with her dad's long strides.

"Your father parked the car in the far parking lot. A waste of time in my opinion but he refused to park in the fire lane." Sherlock flung open the door to the cafeteria and stopped, regarding his surroundings.

"Its the fire lane, Sherlock. I was not going to park in the damn fire lane." John noticed that his husband had halted his footsteps and shot him a questioning glance. "What is it, Sherlock?" John looked about, trying to find whatever had caused his lover to cease moving.

"They're everywhere, John." Sherlock muttered to his husband.

"Christ, Sherlock they're just kids. Calm down and get a move on. Lestrade is waiting." John grabbed Sherlock's hand and pulled him along. The family weaved their way around people, a few of which shot them weird looks but more or less ignored their existence.

"Oh gods." Maddy ducked her head and focused on the ground, hoping that HE wouldn't see her. He did, thanks to Pepper.

"Oh! Hi Levi!" Pepper smiled evily at her sister. "Come! Meet our dads!" Looking up from the book in his hands, a tall brunette boy smiled at Pepper before tucking his book under his arm and jogging over to them.

"Hello, humans! How are you?" Levi held his arms out for a hug from Pepper and then turned to Maddy and hugged her too.

"Oh I am fantastic. How about you?" Pepper shot another smirk at her sister, whose face was now bright red, before turning back to Levi. A confused look flitted across his face for a moment before going back to a wide smile.

"I am quite well." He responded, blue eyes beaming brightly.

"That's good. Anywho, these are our parents. This is our papa," Pepper waved a hand at John who held out his hand towards Levi for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Levi." They shook hands and Pepper thought she may have seen Levi give a small wince when her papa gripped his hand.

"Hello, Levi. I'm John." By this time, Maddy had her face buried in her hands and her sister had a smug smile on her face.

"And this is our dad." Pepper gestured to Sherlock whose face betrayed absolutely no emotion as he stared at the young boy.

"Nice to meet you too. My name is Levi." The blue eyed boy yet again held his hand out but Sherlock didn't return the offer so Levi dropped his arm back to his side.

"So I have gathered." Sherlock rumbled in a deep voice. Sherlock looked intently at the boy and circled him, almost as if sizing him up for a fight.

"Sherlock..." John warned, reaching forward to place a hand on his partner's arm. Sherlock shook him off and faced Levi.

"So you are the one that my daughter has taken such a liking to." Sherlock arched an eyebrow as Levi's face contorted into confusion as he turned towards Maddy.

"DAD!" Maddy all but shouted at her curly haired father as her face somehow managed to get even redder.

"What?" Sherlock glanced innocently at his daughter.

"He," Maddy shot a look at Levi but figured he would hear anyway so she continued. "He didn't know!" She finished with a hiss.

"Oh? My apologies. I had assumed that perhaps you may have wished for him to have knowledge of your feelings towards him." Sherlock looked slightly apologetic for a moment before turning back to gaze icily at the teenage boy.

"You...you like me?" Levi stammered in surprise.

"Yes. Now, can we leave!?" Maddy turned away from him and glared at her dad, whom ignored her.

"So, I guess I had a lot less to worry about than I thought." Sherlock deduced the boy as he spoke. "He doesn't seem too bad."

"Maddy," Levi smiled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because..." Maddy tried, but couldn't find any words.

"Because you're her first real "crush" And she is very shy." Pepper's tone was slightly teasing. "But you should know that you're almost all she talks about."

"Pepper!" Maddy shouted, her face was a bright red.

"Oh really?" Levi smiled.

"Oh yes" Pepper laughed. "One time, she called you a walking stick of hot!" At this point, Pepper was almost on the floor laughing.

"Pepper! Our parents are right there!" Maddy fumed. Sherlock and John both laughed quietly.

"Hey," Levi began. "Maybe you'd like to hang out sometime?" He was speaking in a flirtatious tone.

"Yeah... that'd be nice..." Maddy replied nervously.

"Why don't you come over to dinner tonight?"and John suggested, with a huge smile on his face. Sherlock's smile disappeared.

"John!" Sherlock barked. "Don't invite him into our house!"

"Sherlock..." John gave his husband an unnerving angry face. "What did I tell you about being over-protective of Maddy?"

"It's Pepper's job..." Sherlock sighed.

"Dinner sounds good!" Levi answered with a bigger smile than usual on his face. "May I have your address?"

"221B Baker Street." John happily responded.

"I'll see you there!" Levi beamed, before hugging Pepper and Maddy, then walking away.

"Oh hell." Maddy groaned, putting her face in her hands. Sherlock gave a small smile and placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder, causing her to look up.

"I know quite well that when it comes to love and sentiment, you are completely clueless, much like I was before your father," Sherlock paused to smile at John and twine their fingers together. "But, you shouldn't worry. It is not a case that needs to be solved. Do not dwell on it. And if you don't dwell, you wont even notice the moment it becomes natural."


	3. Dinner (part one)

**Okay, so, as most of you have probably figured out, I've been having some formatting issues. My sister (account name: Nerdylittlechickwithwings) and I are writing this together, and she has to type it up on her ipod, and it really screws up the formatting. I was up until 11:50 PM on a school night just to reformat this chapter. Be grateful!**

"Hoohoo!" Mrs. Hudson called as she walked through the door into the flat. Levi, followed behind her. The two of them gave an odd look to what they saw on the chair. John and Sherlock were tangled up together, sleeping soundly. Sherlock had one leg hanging off the chair with the other bent at the knee and resting on the chair. He had one arm slung over the back of the small chair and his head leaning on his other hand. John was sitting sideways in the chair with one leg up on the armrest, his arms wrapped around Sherlock's bent leg, and his head resting on Sherlock's knee. His other leg was pushing up against the arm rest and their was a blanket hanging off of John's leg and pooling on the floor.

"Looks like they fell asleep arguing about something, the dearies." Mrs. Hudson smiled. "How would you like to just skip to Maddy and Pepper's room?" She politely asked.

"Okay... sure..." Levi replied. Mrs. Hudson lead him through the flat and to the door to a room.

"The girls are right in here." Mrs. Hudson gestured to the door. "It was nice meeting you, Levi. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go wake up their fathers." She then walked away.

Levi knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He slowly and quietly opened the door. Inside the room, Pepper was laying on a twin bed with a black and white comforter, typing away on the laptop in front of her. Across the room, against the other wall, was another twin bed. This one had a beige and brown comforter with ornate designs. Sitting on it, tossing something back and forth between hands, was Maddy. "So why exactly do we have this hand anyway?" Maddy examined what Levi now recognized was indeed a hand, (he hoped that it wasn't real), and then began to toss it into the air and catch it.

"Experiment. Dad didn't need it, so he said I could have it as long as Papa doesn't find out." Pepper responded without looking up from her computer.

"Did you have to put it in the mini-fridge right next to the snacks? You could have at least wrapped it, like Dad does." Maddy wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah yeah. I'll wrap it next time." Pepper said absentmindedly as she focused on the screen. Maddy sighed and set the hand next to her before pulling out her phone. Levi stood their for a moment, rocking back and forth on his heels before he cleared his throat loudly. Maddy's head shot up and she smiled before looking down and blushing at the fact that she was wearing her fuzzy monster feet slippers and paint covered basketball shorts. Pepper finally looked up from her laptop, only to smirk at her sister when she saw who was in their room.

"Hi." Maddy said slightly nervously as she climbed off the bed and walked over to him.

"Hullo." Levi responded, a large smile stretching across his face. He held out his arms and enveloped her in a hug, resting his head on top of her's for just a moment. Maddy relaxed into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat.

"Oi! Get a room you two!" Pepper snapped from her bed as she shut the laptop and stood up. Maddy pulled away from the hug and ducked her head to hide her blushing face before clearing her throat and looking at her sister.

"Well lets go see if the parentals are awake. Shall we?" She glanced at Levi and then turned to go to her bed and grabbed the hand. With a smile, she slid past the two teens and walked out of the room. Pepper shot Levi a look as his eyes followed her sister, and he quickly turned his eyes to the floor.

"Maddy," Pepper said, turning her gaze to her sister. "Give me the hand. We can't let Papa find out, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah." Maddy walked back into the room and handed Pepper the hand before turning around and walking into the hall again. Pepper walked over the the small refrigerator that sat up against the wall between the to bedside tables and placed the hand inside. With a small smile at Levi, she followed her sister out of the room. He quickly trailed after her.

When they reached the living room, Maddy nor Sherlock and John could be seen so Pepper headed towards the kitchen, Levi still following behind her. In the kitchen, Maddy was perched on the countertop, talking to John. John was pulling things for dinner out of the fridge and Sherlock was still MIA. "Hello, Levi." John smiled at the boy as he turned on the stove and set a pot of water to boil. "How does spaghetti sound?"

Levi smiled. "Hello,sir. Spaghetti sounds wonderful.

"Alright, I'll just finish cooking." John smiled. "Would you girls mind if your grandma joins us for supper?"

"No, not at all." Pepper hugged her papa before jumping onto the counter next to Maddy. "Where is dad?"

"He's outside talking to Mycroft about the case he's been working on." John replied.

"Ah." Maddy patted the empty counter space next to her, gesturing for Levi to join her and her sister. With a shrug, he walked over and hopped up next to Maddy, close enough that Pepper shot him a look that said "Im watching you." Levi stared back at her evenly, not even shifting from his spot. Pepper narrowed her eyes and looked away.

"Alright," John chimed. "Dinner shall be done in about five minutes." He placed a lid over the simmering pasta and turned towards the three teenagers on the counter. "Care to set the table?"

"Sure, why not!" Pepper hopped off the counter and grabbed a chair at the table. Levi and Maddy followed. "But first, would you call your grandma up for supper?" John asked. Maddy and Levi began to walk to the door, when Pepper stopped them. "Don't worry guys, I got this." She then cupped her hands around her mouth. "GRANDMA! IT'S TIME FOR SUPPER!" She shouted. "On her way." Maddy and Levi shrugged before re-grabbing their seats at the table. John grabbed a seat at the far end of the table and Maddy and Levi sat next to each other on the side. Pepper sat across from Maddy and smirked at her. Maddy looked away blushing slightly. Just as John had begun serving the spaghetti, Sherlock stormed in and flew into the seat at the head of the table.

"Sherlock..." John began. "Don't be like that today. We have company." Sherlock crossed his arms and ignored his husband.

"What's wrong, dear?" Mrs. Hudson asked as she walked in behind Sherlock and grabbed the seat next to him.

"Mycroft has just informed me that Moriarty knows about the girls!" Sherlock answered, putting his head in his hands. The girls looked at each other worriedly. John placed a hand on Sherlock's shoulder.

"How did he find out? We were doing so well at keeping them a secret! They aren't even registered in the system with our last names! Mycroft made sure!" John's voice was laced with panic and worry as he glanced from his husband to his daughters.

"I don't know. Mycroft showed me CCTV footage of a vandalized shop window. He sprayed paint on it. "I know about them.-M" He knew Mycroft would see it and tell us!" Sherlock pulled roughly at his curly hair, head bowed. John laid a hand on one of Sherlock's, untangling it from its prison in the dark tendrils that were his husband's hair. He laces their fingers together and gently tugged. Sherlock looked up.

"C'mere." John pulled once more on his lover's hand and Sherlock stood up. Wrapping his arms around Sherlock's waist, John laid his head on his husband's chest before speaking. "Maybe its not about them, love. And if it is...Mycroft has no doubt, from the moment he found out, set up guards to watch the girls for when they are at school, and a car to drive them home so they won't be walking. You know how much he adores them, even though he doesn't show it. Greg probably will have officers on the lookout anywhere the girls go. And then there is you and me. We have always watched out for our girls, Sherlock. From the moment we decided we wanted children...we knew it would be dangerous. He was bound to find out sometime, Sherlock." John looked up at his husband to see him staring back, eyes fierce and vulnerable.

"Moriarty has gotten passed all of us before, John!" Sherlock turned to walk away, but John grabbed his arm.

"Sherlock Holmes, you listen to me. We protect this family. We protect each other. And I'll be damned if you give up now." John looked intensely at Sherlock, who stared blankly back.

"I'm not "giving up." Sherlock spat.

"Then don't be so goddamn pessimistic!" John shouted. Sherlock stared back at his husband in surprise. Maddy jumped at her father's sudden outburst, eyes widening.

"What exactly is going on?" Levi whispered.

"My dad is a consulting detective. There is a man, if you can even call him that, named Moriarty who has made it his mission to destroy my father. He has made it into his own sick little game. He has strapped bombs to people's chests, INNOCENT people, and made my father solve crimes in a certain amount of time or else he would blow them up. My dad...he saved them all but one. An old woman who began to describe Moriarty before Dad could stop her. And the bomb killed thirteen others. Five years ago, before I met you, my dad had to fake his own death in order to keep our family safe. And he couldn't tell any of us. The three years that he was gone, going undercover around the world to destroy all of Moriarty's colleagues and connections, were the worst three years of my life. And we had thought Moriarty was dead. He shot himself right in front of my dad. But somehow, Lord only knows, he is alive. And now he knows that we exist. And he is coming for us." Levi gave Maddy and Pepper an alarmed look, eyes wide and worried.

"Wait!" Levi stood up. "So, there's this evil guy after you?"

"Girls!" John looked at the girls. "Don't tell him to much! You'll put him in danger too!"

"Since when is that a bad thing?" Sherlock asked.

"Sherlock," John began. "Maddy loves him! Think of how heart broken she would be if Moriarty killed him!" Sherlock and Levi shot an odd look at John, then at Maddy.

"Love?!" They asked in unison.

"Just how long have you liked me?!" Levi questioned Maddy, who was looking away and blushing.

"Longer than you know." Pepper teasingly got herself involved in the conversation.

"Pepper!" John interjected. "Be nice to your sister!"

"And stay out of my love life!" Maddy added.

"No to both of you!" Pepper replied.

"Oh, look!" Sherlock yelled. "Here comes the queen!" The laugh that then came out of Pepper's mouth was caught somewhere in between a hysteric giggle and a smug chuckle.

"Oh this just keeps getting better,"she thought, glancing at her sister. Maddy then shoved her plate of spaghetti out of the way and slammed her face on the table.

"Brother," Mycroft began upon walking in. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"I would think that you would already be aware of the situation, Mycroft, considering you're the one who told me how bad this really is!" Sherlock glared at his brother.

"Oh Sherlock. Stop being such a child. I have tightened security at the school and set up CCTV cameras. Gregory has already set up officers to patrol this street all day and at night I have my own people to keep an eye out." Mycroft smirked and swung his umbrella in a circle.

"Gregory?" Maddy smirked and shot a look at her sister. Mycroft arched an eyebrow at his nieces before his eyes widened. He cleared his throat.

"Erm..yes. Detective Inspector Lestrade." He glanced at the ceiling, avoiding the searching looks from his nieces.

"So how is "Gregory" Uncle My?" Pepper smiled jokingly. "I hear you two have spent a LOT of time together..."

"What exactly are you implying?" Mycroft asked. "And don't call me Uncle My! My name is Mycroft, not My!"

"We're implying that you're shagging him." Maddy replied flatly.

"Excuse me? My lord, where are your manners? I was quite hoping they would get your social skills from Dr. Watson. Seems my hopes were all in vain." Mycroft sniffed. John ignored Mycroft and continued to talk quietly and urgently to Sherlock.

"Oi! Don't change the subject. Just admit that Uncle Greg is your boyfriend! We know anyway. You're all he talks about when Papa and Dad are out and he comes over to watch us." Maddy smirked. "And besides, you two are cute together. Pepper and I totally ship Mystrade."

"Um..." Mycroft froze for a moment. "You SHIP what?"

"It means we think you two should get married and have babies." Pepper explained. Mycroft blushed brightly. Sherlock noticed this, and shot a confused look at his brother.

"Sherlock Holmes, control your children!" Mycroft yelled. "Mummy would be ashamed!"

"Oh, forget Mummy!" Sherlock waved off the thought of his mum being ashamed of him. "Girls, whatever you did to make your uncle blush, do it again!" After a brief moment of awkward, foot steps were heard walking up the stairs.

"Oh god... Please don't be who I think it is..." Mycroft pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. DI Lestrade stepped into the living room of 221B and took in all the people.

"Oi! Having a party without me?" He said in mock hurt.

"Hey Uncle Greg!" Maddy and Pepper said in unison.

"Hey there, kiddos. How's it goin'?" With a smile, the detective inspector placed a kiss to each of the girls foreheads' before turning to Levi. "Who is this?"

"It's Maddy's new boyfriend, Levi!" Pepper answered. Before anyone could protest Pepper's exclamation, Lestrade spoke.

"Ah. Nice to meet you, kid. Im Detective Inspector Lestrade from New Scotland Yard. If you hurt my niece, I'll make sure no one could find your body but Sherlock and if you hurt his daughter, that's the last thing he'll do." Lestrade smiled innocently at the blue eyed boy. Then he turned to speak to Sherlock and caught sight of Mycroft.

"Wait a second!" Levi cut in. "Did Pepper just call me Maddy's boyfriend?!"

Everyone stared blankly at Pepper.

"Well!" Pepper began her explanation. "It's gonna happen!"

Levi and Maddy exchanged awkward looks.

"Well then..." Maddy trailed off.

Lestrade cleared his throat.

"Right. Um..Hello ." He nodded his head in Mycroft's direction.

"Oh, come off it, Uncle Greg. We know that Uncle My is your boy-toy." Pepper giggled.

Lestrade's face flushed and he struggled for words. "He isn't my "boy-toy" whatever that means."

"Oh my gods, seriously? You two are so far in the goddamn closet that you're best friends with Aslan and you're yelling "For Narnia!"" Maddy exclaimed. Mycroft arched an eyebrow at the pop reference.

Lestrade sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes." The two girls chorused.

"Especially since you talk about him non-stop." Maddy smirked.

"And let's not forget that every other night, you're not home."Pepper added.

"And how would you know that? Actually, don't answer that." Lestrade ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It's fine, Gregory. They were bound to find out." Mycroft murmured as he stood and walked towards the DI.

"Alright, yeah. We're together. There. I said it." Lestrade wrapped his arm around Mycroft's waist as if to prove the point.

Maddy smiled at the pair before turning back to Levi and continuing to explain everything that was going on and who all these people were.

Pepper smirked triumphantly and pulled out her phone.

"Well, I am afraid that I must be off. I have work to do." Mycroft turned on his heel and strode out the door, umbrella swinging in his hand.

"Anyway... Sherlock, I came to tell you that there is a case. Quadruple homicide, and cryptic messages written on the walls in the victim's blood. Can you come?" Lestrade requested.

Sherlock's head snapped towards the detective and he opened his mouth to confirm that he would help when his blonde daughter's eyes caught his. She looked resigned and just a bit disappointed.

"Not now. Tomorrow, perhaps. Tonight, I am busy with my family." Sherlock shook his head. "And they are more important."

"Understood. But um...a soon as possible would be good. We're a bit out of our depth on this one." Lestrade gave Sherlock a sheepish smile.

"You always are." Sherlock smirked at John as if it was some sort of inside joke and then turned back to Lestrade.

"Goodnight, Inspector." He nodded to the officer.

"See ya, Uncle Greg!" The girls exclaimed. John smiled at Lestrade and gave him a little nod. Levi smiled and waved at the DI and Lestrade walked out the door, leaving the family and their guest in silence.

"Well...Lets eat!" John smiled and headed into the kitchen, the rest of them trailing behind.


	4. Dinner (part two)

**Okay, I just wanted to say two things before you read this. 1. Reviews like the one a guest left me are a huge part of the reason I write on this site! Nerdylittlechickwithwings and I agree that that was the best review we've ever gotten. 2. Nerdylittlechickwithwings wouldn't let me write a sex scene since she wants to keep this story rated T so... sorry.**

The family and their guest sat down at the table for dinner. "Mrs. Hudson," John began, as he wrapped his fork in spaghetti. "You were quite quiet through all that."

"Oh I didn't want to get in the way of family affairs and all that, dear." Mrs. Hudson put down the rag she had been cleaning with and sat next to Pepper.

"Ah. Understandable." John nodded. The table went silent for a bit, the only sounds being that of the scraping of forks. Then John looked across the table at Sherlock who had his hands steepled under his chin and his eyes shut.

"Sherlock...please eat, love. Its been almost a week since you have had a decent meal." John pleaded with his husband.

"I had toastyesterday morning." Sherlock didn't open his eyes as he responded.

"I said a "decent meal," Sherlock. Toast is not a meal. Now, please, will you just eat your food?" John's voice had a bit of a commanding edge to it and Sherlock opened his eyes to glare at his partner.

"Fine." With a petulant flair, Sherlock picked up his fork and swirled spaghetti around it, sticking it into his mouth before placing the fork back down while still glaring at his husband as if to say "There. I ate some."

John arched an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. "Eat the food, Sherlock. All of it." He had taken on his army tone now and Sherlock's head shot up to gaze at him. John stared evenly at his lover, causing Sherlock to pick the fork up and quietly begin to eat his food. John gave a small triumphant smile and went back to his own spaghetti.

"Levi," Maddy began. "I am so sorry about my family!" She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hands!" Sherlock called, not looking away from his husband.

"Dad!" Maddy yelled. "I was just-"

"It can lead to worse things!" Sherlock explained. Maddy took her hand off Levi's shoulder.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Levi stood up. "I'm not going to touch your daughter!"

"Are you saying she's un-attractive?!" Sherlock also stood up. He faced Levi.

"No! She's beautiful! It's just..." Levi trailed off in thought for a moment. "I'm only fifteen! And she's only fourteen! And we haven't even been on a date together!"

"Are you a virgin?"

"DAD!" Maddy interjected.

"What?!" Levi asked. "You think I'm not?!"

"Well, you're not to bad to look at!" Sherlock stated. "I'm sure that girls are known to like that. Actually... I know you're a virgin. In fact, I know a lot about you. The way you comb your hair, obviously you live with your mother because a father of a teenage boy wouldn't really worry too much about things like the state of your hair, but the dark circles under your eyes said that you've obviously not been getting much sleep but couple the dark circles with the independent way you do things says you spend a lot of time acting more grown up than you are. You took a cab here, not the usual form of transportation for a young teenage boy, says that your parents obviously consider you responsible enough to do things on your own. Judging by the way you talk to Pepper, always making sure that she is alright and listening to her problems, says that you are used to comforting people. But not only that, you treat her like a little sister even though she is older than you. You do it comfortably, so you have younger siblings yourself. Two at least. Maddy mentioned that your mother recently went back to school, so that leaves you to watch your siblings and do chores and cook."

"How did you know he treats me like a little sister?" Pepper gave her father a confused look.

"I read your texts."

"DAD! What the hell?" Pepper exclaimed angrily.

"Valerie, do not talk to your father that way. We pay for the phone so we can go through it if we want." John gave his daughter a stern look.

"Also, about that Josie girl, you could do better." Sherlock said nonchalantly, waving a hand in his curly haired daughter's direction.

"I agree. She is a total bitch to you." Maddy said to her sister with a sad smile.

"Madison..." John warned in a low tone.

"Sorry, Papa. But its true." Maddy shrugged.

"Wait...your real name is Valerie?" Levi quirked an eyebrow at said girl.

"Yeah. The nickname comes with a long story, I'll tell you some other time." Pepper explained. They all sat in silence for a moment.

"Well..." Levi began. "Now that we've gotten all that out of the way, how about we try actually having dinner?"

"That sounds like a great idea." John smiled. As they began to eat again, Levi noticed that Sherlock was simply staring at him with narrowed eyes. Levi looked at Maddy for clarification.

"He never eats. He says that digestion slows down his thinking." Maddy explained.

"Ah." Levi smiled awkwardly and went back to eating.

After the meal, the family and their guest gathered in the living room to say goodbye to Levi.

"It was nice having you over, Levi." John smiled and shook the boy's hand. Levi smiled back.

"Thanks for having me." Levi replied.

"Oh, it was great meeting you!" Mrs. Hudson hugged Levi. "Maddy has taken quite a liking to you. Treat her well." Levi broke from the hug and laughed quietly.

Levi held out his hand towards Sherlock for a handshake. Arms crossed on his chest, Sherlock glared at him.

"Sherlock..." John warned, placing a hand on his husband's shoulder. "Be nice to this poor boy. Haven't you put him through enough for one night?"

Sherlock sighed and shook Levi's hand. "Goodbye." He said, gesturing to the door.

Before leaving, Levi hugged Pepper and Maddy. "See you guys tomorrow." He said on his way out.

"Bye!" Maddy and Pepper replied.

"He seems like a really nice boy, Maddy." John looked at his daughter.

"Yes. Not one thing I could use against him... damn!" Sherlock paused in thought for a moment. "Everyone to their rooms. I need to think!" He put his hands together by his chin as if he were praying.

"Okay. I love you daddy." Pepper stretched out her arms for a hug.

"Out!" Sherlock yelled. Maddy and Pepper quickly ran to their room.

"Sherlock!" John yelled. "Your daughter wanted a hug! You know how her mind gets at night!"

"Please," Sherlock began, his eyes closed as he thought something over. "She was fine a minute ago."

"That doesn't mean she is now!" John explained to his partner. "Her Schizophrenia is un-predictable and seemingly random sometimes, Sherlock! You know that!" Sherlock tried to ignore the fact that his daughter needed him. "And you also know that it's worse at night!"

Sherlock sighed and opened his eyes. "And just how do you know she is having issues at the moment?" He asked sternly.

"Because when her mind is clear and working, doesn't she know better than to try and hug you when you're thinking?" John answered. He grabbed Sherlock's hand. "She responds better to you than me when this happens. Go talk to her." Sherlock paused and looked at his husband before he took his hand from John's and began walking towards Maddy and Pepper's room. "Or, at least hug her!" John called softly after him.

Sherlock slowly and quietly opened the bedroom door. Maddy had Pepper wrappped up in her arms and they were sitting on Maddy's bed. Pepper was saying something, but her voice was so quiet and cracked that Sherlock couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"Shhh" Maddy gently sushed her sister. "You're alright."

Pepper seemed to have almost no idea what Maddy was saying, her eyes gazing blankly at the wall.

Sherlock stood in the doorway and watched his daughters. After a good half an hour or so, Pepper calmed down and Maddy let go of her. She had tear stains on her face and her eyes were watery. Before Pepper could turn around and see Sherlock, Maddy glared softly at her Dad, a bit of her Papa's anger showing in her blue eyes. Sherlock, not knowing what else to do, closed the door and met John in their room.

"Well?" John looked up from his laptop and upon seeing his husband's blank face, shut it softly, placing it on the bedside table and holding out his arms.

Without a word, Sherlock stripped down to his pants and climbed under the covers next to John.

John reached over and turned off the bedside lamp before laying down and allowing his husband to snuggle against his chest, wrapping an arm around him once he was situated.

After a few moments of silence that seemed like ages, Sherlock spoke.

"I'm not fit to be a parent, John." His voice made it seem as if he was simply stating fact.

"You have been a parent for sixteen years, Sherlock, and a damn good one in my opinion." John carded his fingers through his partner's curly tresses and waited for him to respond.

"I cannot even comfort my daughter when her schizophrenia acts up. What does that say about me?" Sherlock's voice was still emotionless as he spoke.

"Well, for one, you have comforted her when it acts up, many times in fact, if not all of the previous times. Two, you're only human, Sherlock. Humans make mistakes. It doesn't make you a bad father." John murmured.

Sherlock lifted his head to look his husband in the eyes. John stared back for a moment, searchingly, before sighing.

"Oh Sherlock..." With a slight tug, John had his arms wrapped around his husband, whose face was now buried in John's neck as his body began to shake slightly.

"Shh... We knew that the potential of all this was there, Sherlock. We had both of the surrogates tested and Mycroft ran extensive background checks and pulled family history records. Pepper's biological grandmother had schizophrenia. We knew that there was at least a ten percent chance of her getting it. We prepared for this. What has got you so wound up about it now?" John stroked Sherlock's back and held him tightly as he felt warm liquid begin to soak into the shoulder of his shirt.

In a muffled voice, Sherlock answered.

"I am not used to this, John. This...stress and worry. I don't like it. Her schizophrenia has been getting worse and her episodes are happening more often... And then what about Maddy? I can barely work a simple case anymore, John. My mind is so distracted by worrying about the girls. I'm not saying that they are causing me problems because it isn't their fault. I'm simply not used to...caring this much."

John thought for a moment before he spoke.

"Sherlock...look at me," Sherlock lifted his head slightly, looking at his partner with red rimmed eyes.

"We can do this. We have been raising these girls for a long time and we can't begin to worry about that now. The time for that is over. I know you hate not knowing what to do. And you dislike being distracted and you still don't completely understand sentiment but... Sherlock, you are a good man. You have a heart and you are a damn good father. A bit of an unorthodox one but thats just fine. And sure, our girls have a few issues. But doesn't everyone? A diagnosis does not define you as a person and I'm a doctor so I would know. I love you, Sherlock and so do our daughters. We love you very much and wouldn't trade you for the world." John finished fiercely.

Sherlock paused and gave a small sniffle. "Maddy glared at me when I went in there. She has your glare, John. A glare that I seem to find myself at the receiving end of quite often, considering there is now two people to deliver it." Sherlock mused.

John gave a soft giggle and smoothed Sherlock's hair back from his face.

"Yes, she does have a good glare, doesn't she? But don't worry, Sherlock. She wasn't mad at you. Just worried about her sister."

"Hmm...yes that is most likely." He paused. "John?" He inquired, laying his head back down onto his husband's chest.

"Hmm?"

"Remember when we pulled the girls out of school yesterday?" Sherlock cuddled closer to his husband, hitching a leg over his hip.

"Yes...?" John trailed off, unsure of where this was going.

"And I wanted to go to the crime scene and solve that case Lestrade had called us with?"

"Uh huh. Continue." John had a feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going.

"Well... I did that because I knew the case would distract you and make you forget the fact that the girls had very important appointments with the psychiatrist that is why we pulled them out in the first place but you forgot and by the time we got done, you were tired and we had already missed the appointments so I felt no need to tell you." Sherlock finished quickly and waited with baited breath for his lover's reaction.

John paused a moment before a giggle slipped through his lips. Then it turned into a full out chuckle before he was laughing uncontrollably and his whole upper body was shaking. Sherlock raised his head and quirked an eyebrow at John's reaction.

"Oh lord. Sherlock, I didn't forget. I knew you didn't want to go because you would be bored and I knew that the girls would hate the stuffy old man that Mycroft hired. I let you have your fun with the girls at the crime scene because I know you enjoy teaching them and showing off in front of them, just like you do with me. Plus, it's almost the end of the year so I figured the girls could afford a little hooky." John smiled at his husband. "The fact that you sounded so worried is what made me laugh. I don't know what you're afraid of."

"Oh. Well, I was not afraid of anything. I simply did not wish to anger you." Sherlock looked away defiantly. "That was all."

John snorted. "Oh please, Sherlock. Don't lie. What, were you afraid I was going to withhold sex?" John giggled at the notion but noticed that Sherlock stayed silent and his cheeks flushed.

"Oh my god. You were, weren't you?" John exclaimed.

Sherlock sniffed and avoided his husband's eyes. "I was not."

"Oh there is no sense in arguing with you right now. Come here." With a smug smile, John tangled his fingers in Sherlock's curly hair before rolling over so he was atop his husband, and smashing their lips together in a frenzied kiss.

CUT! NO SEXY SCENES! SORRY FOLKS! XD


	5. Jim Moriarty HII!

Pepper and Maddy were laying in their beds around 10:00 that night. Maddy was wearing white headphones and rocking herself to sleep while Pepper was on her laptop working on a Prezi.

(tap)

Pepper's head shot up. Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced around the dark room. After a moment of silence, she shook her head and went back to her computer.

(tap)

Pepper looked at the door to her and her sister's room. She was sure that thats where the noise came from, but what-

(tap)

Pepper shut her laptop and climbed off her bed. As she walked to the door, she pondered the noise. "It's almost like someone is knocking quietly but who-" Her thoughts were cut off when she opened the door.

"Hello there, darling. Daddy's home!" The slim man murmured in a sing-song voice.

Pepper's eyes widened as she looked around frantically, trying to find something to incapacite the man with until she could reach the gun that her papa had given her to keep in her bedside table, but the man must have guessed what she had planned and wrapped his thin yet strong arms around her. She was about to scream when he placed a cloth over her mouth.

As her vision began to fade, she spoke, which was muffled through the rag but he seemed to understand her.

"Who am I? Oh how rude of me to not introduce myself," His dark eyes sparkled and he flashed her a manic smile. "Jim Moriarty. Hiii!"

Pepper's vision went black.

A small thump woke John from his sleep. Being in the army, you were trained to awake at the smallest noise, so he wasn't suprised. Without hesitation, John untangled himself from Sherlock and grabbed his pajama bottoms off the floor, slipping them on quickly and grabbing his gun.

Opening the bedroom door, he slipped out into the hallway and looked around. After a moment, he slipped down the hall towards his daughters' room, catfooted and wary.

He stopped outside their door, noting with worry that it was open slightly. The girls always slept with the door completely shut because Maddy's OCD wouldn't allow her to sleep if it wasn't.

Taking a breath, he nudged the door open with his foot and quickly scanned the room, gun raised and trigger finger ready, but not hasty.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the figures underneath the blankets on both beds. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he walked over to Maddy's bed. Reaching over to place a hand on his sleeping daughter's shoulder and kiss her forehead like he has done for the both of them since they were babies, he froze when his hand touched the blanket.

With a quick jerk, John tore the blanket away and blanched at the sight.

Just pillows. His daughter wasn't there.

Panicking, John ran over to Pepper's bed and pulled away the blankets.

She wasn't there.

John turned towards the door, planning to run down the hall and wake Sherlock, and he took a sudden step back.

"Tsk tsk, Johnny boy. You were a soldier, I shouldn't have been able to sneak up on you so easily. What has you so distracted?" Moriarty asked with mock concern. John snarled at him. "Oh, of course! Your daughters are missing. How dreadful. But don't fret, Dr. Wattson. A friend of mine is babysitting for me until I can go greet them properly. I thought I would stay and chat for a bit. Figured you might hear the bit of commotion." Moriarty paused and walked to Pepper's side of the room, examining the the photos on her wall. "Quite a feisty one, she is." He pointed to Pepper in one of the pictures. "Not as feisty as me, of course, but still." He smiled smugly.

"What do you want, Moriarty? Couldn't you have just left the girls out of this?" John's hand tightened on his gun. If he could just-

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Come with me quietly and no one gets hurt. Well, not yet anyway." Moriarty giggled.

Sherlock woke up to a text from John the next morning. He groaned and sat up in bed. "I'm not used to sleeping that long..." He mumbled as he sat up in bed. He grabbed his phone and clicked a button to read the text.

"Call me"

Sherlock sighed and called John's phone.

"What?" Sherlock asked, as he heard someone answer the phone.

"I told you I would burn you, Sherlock. I warned you." A familiar insane voice spoke on the other side of the line. Sherlock recognized the voice instantly.

"Moriarty, why do you have John's phone? What did you do to him?" Sherlock asked, as he jumped out of bed and juggled getting dressed and talking on the phone.

"Its a game, Sherlock." Moriarty quickly answered. "A tough case to crack. I heard you liked those. So if you want your dear John back, then come out and play."

"Oh, I'll play. Lets remember who's game this is, Moriarty!" Sherlock hissed.

"Oh trust me, Sherlock. I know." Moriarty's sing-song way of talking suddenly became much more annoying than usual.

"And what about the other hostages? Don't bother lying, its obvious you have them." Sherlock knew Moriarty well enough to know that he had to have gotten someone else involved.

"Oh dearie me. It seems I do." Moriarty paused in quiet laughter for a moment before continuing. "I'm assuming the names "Maddy" and "Pepper" ring some bells inside that big brain of yours?"

Sherlock froze in disbelief before running into the girls' room. He found the blankets pulled mostly off the beds and pillows in place of the girls. "What have you done with them?!" Sherlock's voice broke in a mixture of anger and fear.

"Oh not too much." Moriarty replied playfully. "Restrained and gagged, like your husband. Your girls have quite the mouths on them, Sherlock. So sassy and clever-"

"Don't. touch. her." Sherlock could hear Pepper yelling in the background. Moriarty giggled a bit before continuing.

"The mixture of you and Johnny Boy. And they have a little fight in them too. Its like keeping kittens hostage." Moriarty continued.

"Get away from me!" This time, Pepper was screaming in defense for herself.

"If you so much as touch a single hair on their heads, I swear that I will make you pay!" Sherlock threatened.

Moriarty laughed again. "Oh look. Daddy Sherlock to the rescue." Moriarty mocked, before his voice turning serious. "I told you that you would burn, Sherlock. I told you that I would burn the heart out of you and now I have all three pieces of your heart. Right. Here. With. Me."

"What do you want, Moriarty!?" Sherlock tried to hide the fact that he was scared.

"You know what I want, Sherlock. I want to destroy you. And I will." Moriarty replied.

"I understand that, but you didn't have to bring my family into this! I will find you, you will not hurt them!" Sherlock belted.

"Tick tock goes the clock. Can you get to them in time, Sherlock?" Moriarty said, before hanging up.

Sherlock stared at his phone for a moment. He knew he could probably do this, but he didn't want to take any chances. He hated to admit it, but he needed help. He didn't know how long he had, and he couldn't risk being late.

Shoving the phone into his pocket, Sherlock took off down the hall, grabbing his jacket off the hanger and slamming the front door behind him.

He raced down the stairs and outside, his long coat flaring out behind him.

"Taxi!" He yelled at the cab driving towards him, throwing his hand out.

"New Scotland Yard. Fast." The look on Sherlock's face must have struck a chord in the cabbie, as he turned away and stepped on the gas.

Sherlock hit the number two on his phone and held it up to his ear. It picked up on the first ring.

"Ah, Sherlock. How are you, dear brother?" A sly voice spoke through the phone.

"Mycroft... I need your help." Sherlock's voice trembled, so slightly that anyone other than Mycroft probably wouldn't have noticed.

On the other side of the phone call, Mycroft's face went blank. He stood up abruptly, startling his secretary.

"Sherlock, tell me what's happened." Mycroft strode out of the room, quick as a jungle cat. His secretary moved to follow him, but he waved her off. He walked briskly down the stairs and out of his office building, hopping into the car that was waiting for him.

"He took them. H-h-he took John and the girls, Mycroft. He took the girls." Sherlock's voice was broken as he struggled to talk through his tears.

Mycroft froze. Within the next five seconds, he thought of over 30 ways to make Moriarty disappear.

"Driver, step on it. New Scotland Yard. Now!" Mycroft's voice was filled with anger for the man who dared to even touch his nieces.

The ride to New Scotland Yard seemed to take longer than usual.

Once there, Sherlock raced out of the taxi and inside the building. He stormed into Lestrade's office and sat down.

"Christ, Sherlock!" Lestrade stood up from his chair as he yelled. "You can't just come barging in here whenever you feel like it!"

"Detective Inspector..." Sherlock began, trying to figure out what to say. "I- I need your help... John... The girls..."

"Sherlock," Lestrade was getting worried. "You look like you're panicking! You never panic! What happened?"

"Moriarty took John and the girls." A canny voice spoke worriedly. Lestrade and Sherlock looked at the doorway to see Mycroft there, leaning on his umbrella. Lestrade froze.

"What?!" Lestrade looked at Sherlock in distress then back to his boyfriend.

Seeing the truth plainly in Mycroft and Sherlock's faces, Lestrade collapsed back into his chair in shock.

"My god...when?" The DI ran a hand through his silvery hair.

"Last night. I think." Sherlock's voice was unsteady and he seemed unsure of himself.

"You think? How could you have NOT noticed?" Lestrade said angrily.

"I was asleep! I-I didn't notice anything strange before John and I went to bed and when I awoke...they were gone. I thought that maybe John had to go into work at the hospital early but then..."

"What happened, Sherlock?" Mycroft's voice was emotionless, but he was obviously trying to be strong for his brother.

"I checked my phone and there was a text from John that just said "Call me." I assumed he was going to tell me that he had been called in. But when I called...He answered."

Mycroft walked around his distraught brother and settled himself into one of the chairs that was placed in front of Lestrade's desk. With a weary sigh, he ran a hand over his face and waited for Sherlock to continue.

"Moriarty," Sherlock spat the name like acid before continuing.

"went on and on about "burning" me. He- I could hear Pepper screaming at him in defense of Maddy... I don't even know for sure if Maddy and John are alive..." He stopped talking when he felt a tear fall out of his eye.

"Sherlock, look at me." Mycroft said in a voice as soothing as his could get. "We are going to find them, and they are going to be alright. Okay?"

Sherlock nodded, eyes glazed over.

"Where do we start?" Lestrade queried.

"Everywhere." Mycroft pulled out his phone and hit a button before holding it up to his ear. "I need surveillance from all CCTV cameras on Baker Street and I need teams of agents ready to canvas ALL of London." Mycroft listened for a moment to whomever he was on the phone with's response. Suddenly his face was enraged but he responded in a cold and deadly voice. "You WILL get me those teams and you will get me them NOW. I have the ability to erase the fact that you ever existed. It would do you well to remember that next time you decide to refuse to obey me." Mycroft snapped the phone shut.

"I'll get Anderson and Donavon on the case too." Lestrade stood and started toward the door.

"We don't need them. Why would they help anyway?" Sherlock sneered though it wasn't very heated.

"Sherlock, we will need all the help we can get." Mycroft stood from his chair and gazed at his perturbed brother for a moment before walking towards Lestrade, who had paused in the doorway.

The two men looked at each other for a moment before the DI wrapped his arms around the politician. Mycroft rested his forehead against Lestrade's for a moment before placing a quick kiss to his lips and opening the door and walking out of the office.

Lestrade sighed and looked at the consulting detective still sitting in his office. Sherlock's eyes were glazed over as he stared into space. The DI opened his mouth to speak before shaking his head and leaving the office, shouting for his team.


	6. The game begins

**Sooo... I should warn you that Nerdylittlechickwithwings and I have turned into Moffat. Hehehe...**

_"Would you like to cut the cord, Mr. Holmes?" The nurse held out a pair of small scissors and Sherlock looked questionably at John, who nodded his head and smiled._

_"You go ahead, Sherlock. I want you to do it."_

_Sherlock simply nodded and wordlessly took the scissors from the nurse's outstretched hand and cut the umbilical cord with a quick snip._

_Smiling and holding a small pink bundle, the doctor walked towards a nervous Sherlock and John."Here you are. You have a nice, beautiful, healthy baby girl." John took the baby gingerly and stared at her in wonder, Sherlock looking at her silently over his shoulder._

_"Look at her, Sherlock. God, she looks like you. What are we going to call her?" John looked up at his husband, whose eyes were glistening with tears._

_Sherlock seemed to not have heard his husband's question and continued to gaze at the little girl in John's arms. Sherlock looked over at the woman in the hospital bed, who was watching them and smiling."Thank you." Sherlock's voice was soft and filled to the brim with emotion._

_The woman gave a small smile and nodded in return, but Sherlock had already turned his attention back to his daughter."Our daughter, John... She's so small... and wonderful..." Sherlock's voice was just above a whisper._

_"I know, Sherlock. Do you want to hold her?" John smiled at his husband, who suddenly looked worried."I- I don't want to break it..."_

_"You aren't going to break HER, Sherlock. Here." John held out their daughter and Sherlock cradled her in his arms gently. He traced a long finger smaller ones and suddenly she opened her eyes and wrapped her small hand around his finger. He inhaled sharply._

_"See, Sherlock? You're practically a natural." John wrapped his arms around his husband, their little daughter pressed softly in between them._

_"What should we call it, John?" Sherlock whispered."I'm not sure. SHE looks a lot like the porcelain doll that Harry had as a kid." John never took his eyes off his daughter as he spoke._

_"It does look a bit like a doll, I suppose. Did the doll have a name?" Sherlock asked."First of all, Sherlock, our daughter is a she, not an it." John explained._

_"Calling her a doll didn't help..." Sherlock trailed off a bit. "Anyway, did the doll have a name?"_

_"Valerie." John smiled._

_"Perfect. Valerie Jean Holmes-Watson." Sherlock smiled momentarily at the woman, Jean, laying in the hospital bed, who now had a tear running down her face._

_"Welcome to the world, Valerie." John said with a watery laugh as he pressed a kiss to his newborn daughter's forehead._

Sherlock felt a tear run down his cheek. He placed the school photo of Pepper back on the mantle and adressed his brother and the DI, who had been sitting and talking about finding their nieces."He wouldn't have taken them far. He wants me to play his little game and solve his puzzles, so of course he would need to stay close to home." Sherlock wiped the tear away and turned towards the two men.

"How long do you have this time?" Lestrade asked.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me." Sherlock fell back into his chair, trying to hold back more tears.

"Sherlock," Mycroft walked over to his brother. "Now is not the time to let emotions get in the way. We cannot afford to make the mistake of caring-"

"Caring about them is NOT a mistake, Mycroft!" Sherlock stood up suddenly as he loudly interrupted his brother. "They're my daughters! And he is my husband! I can't just not care about them..." Sherlock trailed off as the tears spilled over and ran silently down his face.

_"Sherlock," John began, putting a hand on his hand on his forehead in exasperation. "Why have you brought our one year old daughter into the delivery room?"_

_Sherlock bounced the toddler lightly on his hip as he spoke. "Why shouldn't she be here when her little sister is born? Mycroft was in the room when I was. Besides, she is in the early stages of labor so we aren't in the way or anything." Sherlock gestured to the blonde woman whom was laying in the hospital bed and talking to a nurse._

_John shook his head. "That was you and Mycroft, Sherlock. You two aren't exactly the epitome of normal. She is only a year old! She wont even remember any of this!"_

_"I remember-" Sherlock was cut off by his husband._

_"Shut up, Sherlock." John glared lightly at his husband. Sherlock pursed his lips and went back to bouncing his daughter on his hip and waiting anxiously for his other daughter to join the world._

_A few hours later, Sherlock was sitting off to the side with his husband, cradling a tired Valerie. They had been told they could stay in the room but they needed to stay out of the way as there were some complications. Sherlock had demanded to know what was going on but the doctors had told him to either sit down or leave._

_Sherlock and John were waiting silently and the woman was screaming when suddenly, the sound of a crying baby filled the room. Sherlock and John both let out a breath that neither knew they were holding._

_"Who wants to cut the cord?" The nurse held out a pair of scissors and Sherlock's flashed back to the birth of his first daughter and he smiled._

_"John." Sherlock smiled and nodded at his husband who stood and took the scissors, walking over to snip the cord. The nurse wrapped the newborn in a pink blanket and handed her to John._

_Sherlock sighed. "Always with that obnoxious color."_

_"Congratulations. You have a healthy baby girl!" The nurse smiled._

_Sherlock looked at his husband whom was gazing at the infant in his arms and stood, still carrying Valerie and walked to him._

_"She looks exactly like you."Sherlock murmured._

_John gave a little laugh."I really hope not. I wouldn't wish my ears on anyone."_

_Sherlock scoffed. "You must be joking. I, personally, love your ears." Sherlock said innocently._

_John laughed and shook his family walked over to the three chairs along the edge of the wall and sat down. Sherlock shifted so that Valerie was sitting on his lap._

_"Look, Valerie. This is your little sister." John leaned closer so that Valerie could see the small looked curiously at the bundle in her Papa's arms. Reaching out a small hand, she went to touch the baby's head._

_"Careful, Valerie." John warned just as his daughter gave a small poke to the baby's skull. Right on her soft spot._

_The baby began crying loudly and in a very high pitched tone. Sherlock pulled Valerie away from her screaming sister quickly._

_John gently rocked the baby until she had quieted and was only giving small whimpers. After a moment, she went silent and her breathing slowed. John smiled at the sleeping baby in his arms._

_Valerie was cradled in Sherlock's arms and her head was tucked in his shoulder as she began to fall asleep._

_"Do you want to hold her, Sherlock?" John whispered, so as not to disturb their sleeping daughters. Sherlock nodded and the two carefully maneuvered themselves and traded children. John began rocking Valerie as Sherlock held the baby close._

_"What do we call her?" John asked his husband quietly._

_"Madison." Sherlock answered immediately._

_"Why Madison?" John cocked his head at Sherlock_

_"It means warrior. And for some reason...I feel it fits her." Sherlock ran a hand over his newest daughters soft hair._

_"Madison Lee Holmes-Watson." John smiled as he listened to the name fall from his lips._

_"Why Lee?" Sherlock murmured._

_"Um..my mother's name was Leah." John whispered._

_"It's perfect." Sherlock gave his husband one of his rare large smiles that John was happy to return._

_"Our little family." John said softly and he leaned in and wrapped an arm around his husband, gazing down at their sleeping children._

"When do you think she will wake up?" Pepper asked her father, who in the silence of the small room, could here her perfectly.

"I don't know. Soon, I'm sure." John answered, hoping to placate his worried daughter.

Pepper gave an audible sigh. She looked around at the small room they were locked in. It was no bigger than the average garage but it had a high ceiling and windows far out of reach. The ground was chipped and dusty concrete and the walls were covered in peeling dirty paint that looked to be a deep blue at one point. Besides the metal loops embedded into the walls that the three of them were chained to, nothing else decorated the room. The door to Pepper's left opened, jerking her from her thoughts. She stiffened when she saw the Westwood suit.

"Good afternoon! How is everyone today? Oh wait. Looks like someone needs a wake up call." Moriarty walked towards Maddy who was chained to the wall across from Pepper. She lay sideways on the floor, breathing slow and deep in her sleeping and drugged state.

"Don't you touch her!" John glared vehemently as Jim bent down to brush a strand of blonde hair from Maddy's face.

Moriarty turned towards John."Ah. I see that protective mode has kicked in. Didn't do much good before, huh? You aren't a very good father, in my opinion, Johnny. A good father wouldn't have let his daughters get kidnapped. Lord! It was quite easy to just walk into that flat, you know. You would think you would have better security. Or that you would have at least heard me walking down the hall. Oh, but you were a bit, shall we say, busy, weren't you?" Moriarty smirked as John clenched his jaw and turned away."Haha! I've got you there, Johnny boy." Moriarty clapped and smiled wider.

"Leave him alone!" Pepper spoke angrily and glared at the smiling man.

Moriarty spun sideways on his heel to look at her."Hmm... You're feisty, aren't you? Sort of like your daddy, Sherlock. Except you're more of a loose cannon. Ruled by a bit of a temper, yes?" Moriarty arched an eyebrow.

"She has a bit of a temper. Not as much as I do though, Jim." A voice sounded from the other side of the room.

Moriarty turned yet again and raised both his eyebrows in surprise. "Well hello there, Sleeping Beauty. How was your nap?"

Maddy brushed her hair out of her face and shrugged. "Could have been better. This room isn't exactly a presidential suite." Maddy wrinkled her nose as she glanced around.

"Ah yes. Well we were fresh out of those so you had to be downgraded. Shame. Anywho, I was just chatting with your sister here. She doesn't much like me teasing Johnny over there." Moriarty pointed to John, whom gazed steadily back.

"Neither do I." Maddy narrowed her eyes at Moriarty. "And it would be in your best interest to leave him alone or so help you God if I get out of these shackles..." Maddy shook her foot as she trailed off and the chain rattled.

Moriarty laughed and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Oooh I'm scared. Look at you. Like a little house cat who wants to be king of the jungle. Sorry, darling. But you don't frighten me."

Maddy giggled and shook her head."What? What are you laughing at?" Moriarty frowned.

"You should learn never to stand too close to a soldier." Maddy smirked.

Whirling around, Moriarty face John, who was now standing and had a gun pointed at Moriarty's head."Bravo, Johnny boy. Brav-o. But what exactly do you plan to do? Shoot me? And then what? I'm not the only one in this building, you know. Plus, you're shackled. You. Aren't. Going. Anywhere." Moriarty hissed in anger at the unexpected hitch in his plan.

John cocked his gun. "I'll take my phone back and call Sherlock."

"You seem to have all the answers. Don't you, Johnny-boy?" Moriarty laughed. He paused for a moment and his eyes flashed."Now, I can't help but wonder what must be keeping you from killing me right now? Because you have a gun, and I'm still alive."

"I'm simply giving you a chance to let us go." John explained.

"No... There's something-" Moriarty smirked as he realized why John hadn't shot him. "It's not loaded. Is it? You're just using it for show." He laughed and grabbed the gun from John.

Pepper and Maddy exchanged worried glances, then turned back to John, who saw this.

"Girls," John began. "Everything is going to be fine."

"Don't lie to the poor girls, Johnny-boy." Moriarty stuck a hand in his pocket. "It just so happens that I have some ammunition in my pocket. Let's see where this goes... shall we?"

"Please... not in front of the girls..."John begged but Moriarty ignored him.

"Usually, I don't get my hands dirty. But I have a soft spot when it comes to Sherlock and this is too perfect to pass up. But then again...maybe I won't do anything. We will just have to wait and see, won't we?" Moriarty slid the clip into the gun and cocked it. With a smile, he lifted it to point it at John before whirling around and aiming it at Maddy who gave a start and pulled her knees up to her chest. Moriarty giggled and turned back to John before suddenly shifting his aim to Pepper, who whimpered.

"Oh god! This is fun! I think I could do this forever. But alas, there are more important things to attend to." Moriarty dropped his arm to his side and turned to walk out the door. "Toodles, my darlings! Until next time."

"My Papa always said you were a coward!" Maddy screamed after him, angered that he was playing with them.

"Madison, don't-" John was cut off.

"ME?! A COWARD!? Oh I will show you a coward, little girl. Cowards don't put a bullet hole in dear old Papa's chest." With enraged eyes and a psychotic smile, Moriarty pointed the gun at John and pulled the trigger.

* * *

"The girls were taken from their room and so was John. We might as well start there." Sherlock stood and wiped the remaining tears from his cheeks before taking off down the hall. His brother and the DI shared a look before they followed silently.

When they got to the girls' bedroom, Sherlock was already rambling off his deductions.

"No sign of a struggle. He had to have either drugged them or had them at gunpoint." Sherlock bent down and touched a drop of liquid that was on the floor. Lifting his finger, he examined it for a moment before giving it a quick smell and wrinkling his nose. "So drugs it is. Chloroform." He wiped his finger on his suit jacket before straightening and walking towards Pepper's bed.

Opening the top drawer of her bedside table, he pulled out a decent sized handgun that looked just like John's. With a sigh, he set it back in the drawer and walked to Maddy's bedside table. Pulling open the top drawer, he removed a gun exactly like the other. With an angered exhale, he slammed it back into the drawer and slid it shut.

"Holy hell, Sherlock, are those registered? Why do the girls have them?" Lestrade's instinct to uphold the law kicked in.

"They are for protection. Unfortunately,it seems the girls couldn't get to them in time." Sherlock avoided Lestrade's registration question and Mycroft gave a small smirk at his brother's smooth tact, knowing he learned it from Mycroft himself.

"Now, I'm not trying to be rude, but he had to have walked right by your's and John's room, Sherlock. And there is a creaky board in the didn't you hear him?" Lestrade furrowed his eyebrows and the consulting detective flushed and clenched his jaw.

"We were busy. Simply a bad time to be otherwise occupied. That's all." Sherlock turned away.

"Wait...were you two-" Sherlock cut Lestrade off.

"I don't believe there is anything else to find out from this room. Moriarty is quite good at covering his tracks." Sherlock spoke, as he left the room.

"Probably not the best time to-"

"I know." Lestrade interrupted Mycroft, before following Sherlock out of the room. Mycroft trailed behind.

Sherlock looked at his phone, and began to wonder if he could call John's phone...


	7. Poor Johnny Boy

"Should I try?" Sherlock held up his phone which had John's number dialed on it.

"It's worth a try..." Mycroft placed a hand on Sherlock's shoulder. Sherlock dialed the number. After a couple of rings, it picked up."Hello?" Sherlock's voice was wary and hopeful.

"Sherlock..." John weakly said."John! You're alive! Oh thank god...where are you?" Sherlock's voice was frantic as it burst though the phone.

"Of course Im alive, you git." John replied in a frail yet sassy tone. Sherlock smiled weakly at hearing his husband's well known snark. "I don't know where we are though, Sherlock. I think he gave me back the phone because he knows that I have no idea where we are. I think its a basement. Its dark.." John's voice trailed off.

"Are the girls around? Are they safe?" Sherlock was talking fast, a sign of his worry and hurried thoughts.

"Yes, they're fine. They're strong. They kept talking to him. So much like you, Sherlock..." John was speaking quietly into the phone, his voice giving away his exhaustion.

"Okay. Don't worry, John. I'll find you and the girls. I swear!" Sherlock practically yelled into the phone.

"I know, Sherlock. I know. I'm going to go...I'm so tired..." John trailed off again, and Sherlock paused.

"John, what is wrong? You sound hurt. Your breathing... John, what's happened?" He rushed out the questions, knowing that his husband wasn't telling him something important.

"Sherlock, if we don't talk again, just know that I love you." John's voice sounded thick, as if he was about to cry.

"John, don't say that. Of course we will talk again. Don't be an idiot." Sherlock responded weakly, his voice quavering in fear at John's ominous sentence.

"Sherlock, Moriarty...he shot me. I won't lie. It's bad. It missed my heart and lungs but I think it lodged in something else and if you don't hurry..."John took a deep breath, unable to finish the sentence.

"Just hold on, John. I'm working as fast as I can. Have the girls watch you. You will be fine!" Sherlock's voice came through with renewed worry and determination, though John could hear the huge amount of fear that his husband was hiding.

"I love you, Sherlock. I'm going to sleep now..." John yawned and winced as a sharp pain ran through his chest before it returning to its numb throb.

"John, you need to have the girls watch you!" Sherlock begged.

"I'll tell them, Sherlock. I'll tell..." John trailed off and Sherlock heard the phone hit the ground, a thud sounding through the speaker.

"John, I love you. Please hold on. I'm coming." With a clenched jaw and wet eyes, Sherlock ended the call.

*about a half an hour earlier*

"No! Papa!" Maddy screamed as she watched the scene happen in front of her. Everything seemed to slow down the moment Moriarty had pulled the trigger. She saw the flash of pain on her father's face as the front of his oatmeal colored jumper began to turn red. She jerked her shackled feet, wanting, NEEDING, to get to her father, as tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh dear. Iv'e lost my temper. Seb is always saying I should watch my anger. Hmm... Oh well, I suppose. Here, Johnny Boy." Moriarty threw something into John's lap.

"Why don't you give your husband a call? I'm sure he would just love to hear his pet slowly die" James Moriarty spun around on his heel and walked towards the door, tucking the gun away in his coat and winking at Pepper, before slamming the door behind him.

"...Papa?" Maddy asked carefully.

"I'm okay. Well, no, I have just been shot but its better than it could have been. He missed my heart and lungs so thats good news." John looked down, wincing and breathing heavily. "But if your father doesn't hurry...Blood loss. I'll die of blood loss"

Pepper gave a whimper. "Papa, what do we do?"

"There isn't much you can do, love. Keep me awake and occupied, I suppose. Tell me if I'm losing a lot of color and remind me to keep as much pressure as I can on this." He gestured to the wound, which was on his left side and below his heart. "Though," he pressed down on it and hissed in pain. " I do believe that the bullet, chipped a rib. That might be what deflected it from hitting my lungs. Or its lodged in a rib but I would feel that. I do think it hit, something internally. There is a lot of blood. I can't think right now... I just need to-" John was cut off by a loud ringing noise, coming from the object in his lap. He lifted it up, hand shaking, and saw who was calling him."Sherlock." He breathed, and quickly hit the answer button and held it to his ear.

*present time*

"Well? How is he? And the girls?" Lestrade asked. Sherlock swallowed and clenched his teeth.

"Moriarty shot him"

"What!?" Lestrade's voice was slightly panicky, before he quickly controlled it for Sherlock's sake.

"Looks like we have less time than we thought..." Mycroft trailed off.

"Then let's start looking! Alright, let's see. What do we know...?" Sherlock went into a deep thought. "We know that Moriarty would keep then somewhere in London. But it can't be in central London because he shot John. It would have to be somewhere that noone would hear a gunshot or somewhere where the sound is practically a constant so no one would report it. Possibly an abandoned building or a garage or basement in the city limits but in a seedy, shady part of the city. According to John, the room they are in is dark, like a basement or garage. So, let's say that it's a building in the city limits but on the outskirts. How many of them have a garage or basement?" Sherlock spoke at the speed of thought.

"I'm sure that most of them do." Mycroft sighed.

"Let me call in my team. They can help." Lestrade picked up his phone.

Lestrade spoke on his phone for a minute before hanging up. "They're on their way."

"Anderson isn't coming anywhere near this case, is he?" Sherlock growled.

"No one else from forensics was in." Lestrade said apologeticly.

"DAMN IT!" Sherlock grabbed his culy hair in frustration. "I don't need to put up with Anderson's idiocy right now! My family is in danger, Lestrade! I don't want him anywhere near this case!"

"Sherlock. Calm down." Mycroft went to place a hand on his little brother's shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Sherlock pushed away Mycroft's hand.

"It's only for today, Sherlock." Lestrade tried to calm down his fuming friend.

Sherlock sighed and clenched his teeth. "One word from him about my family..." He warned to no one in particular.

Lestrade nodded, understanding. "I know, Sherlock. I know."

The trio waited in a tense and thought filled silence. Finally, the door to the flat opened and Sally Donavan walked in, followed by Anderson and a few other nameless officers from NSY.

"You said it was important, boss. Why are we-" Lestrade cut her off with a glare. "Don't. This ain't a time for that. My nieces are in danger, and so is the man that is basically my brother-in-law. We need to find them. Quickly." Lestrade stood and ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair tiredly.

"You mean Fre- Um Sherlock's kids?" Donavan stopped herself from letting the insult slip completely out of her mouth.

"Yes. My children have been kidnapped. And so has my husband." Sherlock jumped up and paced, his eyes tightly shut as he thought.

Donovan was slightly unnerved. She had never seen Sherlock this distressed and she actually felt a bit of sympathy for the man.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Anderson was at least smart enough to realize the seriousness of the situation and he spoke relatively politely.

"We need to narrow down the number of places they might be." Suddenly, Sherlock's phone rang. Seeing the caller, he hastily answered. "John! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Sherlock. I'm fine. I just fell asleep with the phone in my hand, thats all. Well that, and the gunshot wound. But I'm holding up." John sounded weary.

"And the girls?" Sherlock seemed to have forgotten there was anyone else in the room with him, as his emotions slipped into his voice.

"The girls are sleeping. They're fine. He feeds us and gives us water. Its Chinese takeout, oddly enough. And its the girls favorite so that means he had been watching us for quite some time. They are refusing to eat it though. I can talk them into swallowing a few bites but thats it." John sighed.

"Have you told them that they need to keep their strength up in case they have to fight their way out?" Sherlock questioned.

"I have. Thats the only reason they are eating anything at all. They don't trust him not to poison them and honestly I don't either." There was a muted thud but Sherlock ignored it and responded.

"Moriarty wouldn't poison you. That would be too boring for him." Sherlock stated matter of factly.

There was a light giggle through the phone and Sherlock 's expression became puzzled. He was about to speak but the person on the other line beat him to it. "You're quite right, Sherlock. That would be too boring for me."

"What happened to John? What did you do?" Sherlock ground his teeth in anger and hoped John was okay.

"Oh he's fine. Johnny boy just needed a little nap, that's all." Moriarty spoke with a sing-song voice.

"Am I to trust that it was a coincidence that he "took a nap" right when you arrived?" Sherlock hissed.

"Of course not! I would be positively delighted to tell you the truth of the situation." His tone was smug and mocking.

"Then tell me." Sherlock demanded. By now, everyone in the room was looking at him grimly, knowing whom he was talking to was no longer John.

"Your beloved husband is dying. Slowly but surely. My fault. Oops! I let my temper get the best of me. A shame, really. Any who, I needed to talk to you and I figured Johnny here wouldn't give up the phone willingly. It just took a quick blow to his head and yay! I get to speak with my favorite person. Isn't that nice?" He sounded like a kid whose parents finally gave in to the whining and gave him what he wanted.

Sherlock seethed. "What do you need to talk to me for? Why are you putting my family through this?"

"I don't need to talk to you, really. I was just lonely." Moriarty paused. "But, if you don't want to talk, I could hold up a nice conversation with those girls of yours. In fact, they are much more interesting than you. Toodles!" Moriarty hung up the phone with a resounding click.

Sherlock sat down on a chair and put his head in hands. Donovan saw how upset Sherlock was and sat down next to him.

"Those girls of yours are really amazing." She remarked quietly.

Sherlock scoffed. "As if you really think that."

"I do. Listen, Sherlock...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. For all those things I said about you." The woman placed a hand on his shoulder.

Sherlock removed Donovan's hand from his shoulder, got up, and walked away. Greg walked over to Donovan with an apologetic look.

"Don't take it personally. Those girls just... Well, you know how much he loves those girls. He almost killed me when I taught them their first words..." Greg chuckled as he remembered the day it happened.

_Detective Inspector Lestrade was sitting in his office practically buried up to his knees in paperwork when his phone rang. He sighed, throwing down the file he was reading and picked it up._

_"Lestrade."_

_"Hi, Greg. Its John. Listen, I got called into work and Sherlock is working on a case so I was wondering if I could bring them in so you could watch them." John's voice was tired and Greg heard a crash in the background._

_"Valerie! I told you not to touch your dad's experiments!" His voice was muffled and Lestrade figured he had placed his hand over the microphone to muffle his yelling. John heaved a sigh and Greg heard another crash. He had to refrain from laughing._

_"Yeah, mate. Bring 'em in."_

_"Thanks, Greg. I owe you one." John's voice flooded with relief and he hung up._

_About fifteen minutes later, Lestrade's office door opened._

_"Girls! Look who it is!" John smiled as the girls ran excitedly to their Uncle. "I should warn you, Valerie is being a bit of a brat today." He smiled apologetically and looked at the small dark haired girl clinging to Lestrade's pant leg fondly._

_The Detective Inspector laughed. "It will be fine. I'm just doing paperwork."_

_John nodded and glanced at his watch. "I have to go. I'm late. Bye, again, Greg." John waved to the little girls and dashed out the door. Almost immediately after he left, Valerie darted off. Maddy followed her and they began wandering between the cubicles._

_Maddy saw Donavon sitting at her desk and walked over, plopping down onto the ground and staring unblinkingly at the sergeant._

_Donavon arched an eyebrow at Lestrade, who was looking around in confusion, trying to find Valerie. "Sir, who's this?"_

_He turned to her. "Huh? Oh! My niece, Madison." He turned back around and suddenly saw Valerie snatch a stapler from someone's desk. "No! Valerie!"_

_She turned to him and giggled before dashing off. He followed her quickly, chasing after her giggling form._

_Valerie hid in Anderson's cubicle and ran under the desk so her Uncle wouldn't see her. Anderson returned to his desk and could hear something rustling around underneath. He peaked his head under his desk to see a little girl who looked, strangely enough, like Sherlock and was holding a stapler. The little girl screamed and chucked the stapler at Anderson's face before scrambling out from under the desk._

_Anderson yelped in pain and clutched his face in pain._

_Lestrade came around the corner and saw his niece standing next to Anderson. Valerie giggled and ran off again. Lestrade sighed tiredly._

_"That kid threw a stapler at me!" His face was still contorted in pain and he winced when he spoke._

_"Yeah. She does that." Lestrade ran a hand through his hair and took off after his niece._

_He turned a corner and saw her run into the office of another DI. When he entered the office, he saw Valerie yank a large stack of papers off the desk and they went flying everywhere._

_"Fucking 'ell, Valerie!" He managed to catch the giggling girl around the waist and he swooped her up into his arms. He turned to leave the office and Maddy was standing there, smiling at him._

_"Fuckin' 'ell!" Her high voice was innocent and proud._

_Greg blanched. "Oh shit."_

_Valerie giggled. "Oh sthit." She parroted her Uncle._

_"No! Oh please don't let those be your first words..." Lestrade pleaded._

_He carried a smiling Valerie put of the messy office and Maddy followed after him._

_Suddenly, the girls screamed happily and Valerie squirmed, trying to get down. He set her down and looked around to try and see what they were so excited about. He paled when he saw a familiar tall figure sweep towards him in a long coat. "Please don't repeat those words.." Lestrade hoped quietly to himself._

_Valerie and Maddy ran up to Sherlock, who lifted the little girls up."How did they behave?"_

_"Well, Madison managed to creep out Donovan, and Valerie threw a stapler at Anderson's face." Lestrade answered nervously._

_"Good job!" Sherlock smiled proudly at his girls._

_"Oh sthit!" Valerie yelled proudly._

_Sherlock froze. "Lestrade... Why was Valerie's first words 'oh shit?" Sherlock's eyes narrowed._

_"Fucking 'ell!" Maddy giggled and buried her face in her dad's curly hair._

_Sherlock gaped at his daughter and then turned back to the DI, outraged. "Explain. Now."_

_Lestrade stammered a bit under Sherlock's gaze. "Well, Valerie was making a mess of another Detective's office and I...I got frustrated."_

_"You got frustrated." Sherlock's voice was flat._

_"Yeah. And I said a few bad words in my frustration." Greg smiled apologetically. "I honestly didn't think the girls would repeat them."_

_Sherlock heaved a sigh. "Inspector, next time you decide to take your frustration out with such unintelligent words, kindly make sure my daughters aren't around. As if explaining this to John isn't going to be bad enough, I now shall have to hear those words repeated over and over and they aren't even remotely interesting. Now, good day." With a swirl of his heavy coat, Sherlock walked out, taking his cursing and giggling daughters with him._

Greg sighed. "Sherlock isn't the Sherlock you know. Not right now, at least." He looked at said man who was pacing the room rapidly. "I just hope we find those girls and John alive. For everyone's sake."


End file.
